Chapter 41: Lady Jia Intends to Report

Inside the Jia residence.

Qin Huairu was in the middle of changing Banggeng's diaper.

Hearing the commotion, she picked up Banggeng and walked to the doorway.

Her gaze fell upon the two-wheeled bicycle, and she found herself unable to look away.

The bicycle's black iron frame and bright silver rims shimmered under the sunlight.

And it was also so...

"Li Aiguo's... is really big!" Qin Huairu's small mouth parted slightly, and she couldn't help but let out a gasp.

Jia Dongxu was lying on the bed, idling away the time.

He hadn't paid much attention to the sound of Jia Zhangshi's cursing.

His old mother cursed all day long; if there was ever a day she didn't, that would be the real anomaly.

However.

Hearing Qin Huairu's words, his already guilty conscience could no longer hold back.

Jia Dongxu shuffled over in his slippers, his face flushed with anger: "Qin Huairu, what did you say about Li Aiguo being really big? Are you saying mine is small? What do you mean by that!"

Qin Huairu felt somewhat bewildered: "Brother Dongxu, why are you getting so angry? I was talking about Li Aiguo's bicycle."

"Ah."

Jia Dongxu realized his mind had wandered in the wrong direction.

But unwilling to admit his mistake, he turned his head away stubbornly and said, "Anyway, you're not allowed to say Li Aiguo's is big. Not even the bicycle. You're not allowed!"

Qin Huairu was moved to laughter by his absurdity. Pointing at the bicycle outside the door, she said, "Fine then, go find me a bicycle bigger than Li Aiguo's."

"I'll find one if that's what it takes, what's the big deal... *hiccup*."

Jia Dongxu stepped out of the room, but upon seeing that two-wheeled bicycle, the rest of his words choked in his throat.

"Beast! That kid Li Aiguo is a beast, actually getting his hands on such a massive bicycle."

"No, wait, the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't sell bicycles at all. This bike must have been assembled piece by piece!"

Jia Zhangshi also realized this, saying with a sinister look, "Assembled without paying taxes? That kid Li Aiguo is breaking the law!"

Jia Dongxu raised his hand: "Mother, stop him now, and I'll go report this to the neighborhood committee."

*Slap!*

Before he could finish, Jia Dongxu took a hit to the forehead.

"Mother, why did you hit me?" Jia Dongxu asked aggrievedly.

Jia Zhangshi glared at him: "Are you stupid? For something like this, we definitely need Yi Zhonghai to step in. He's the First Uncle of the courtyard; it's his official duty to handle such matters."

"Besides, do you really think you're a match for Li Aiguo?"

"Right, right, right, Mother, you're the smart one." Jia Dongxu realized his error and gave her a thumbs up.

Jia Zhangshi crossed her arms, looking triumphant: "Of course. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice."

Jia Dongxu scurried off to report to Yi Zhonghai, while Jia Zhangshi led Qin Huairu out of the Jia house to stand by the crescent-shaped gate to watch the drama unfold.

"Aiguo, when I get married, I'll definitely ask you to be my best man."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely bring you a massive gift when the time comes."

In the original story.

Lou Xiao'e was beautiful, wealthy, and fair-skinned, with a voluptuous figure and long, toned legs—a top-tier catch.

It was a bit of a waste to give her to Xu Daimao.

Li Aiguo chatted with Xu Daimao as they walked toward the back courtyard.

Just as they reached the crescent gate, they saw Jia Zhangshi standing there with a grim expression.

The gate was already small, and with Jia Zhangshi's stout, heavy build, she was blocking the entire passage.

Li Aiguo showed no courtesy toward Jia Zhangshi: "A good dog doesn't block the road."

"Who are you calling a dog, you brat!" Jia Zhangshi's eyes widened.

"Whoever's blocking the road gets called a dog."

"You little punk, you dare curse me!"

"If you feel like a dog, there's nothing I can do about it."

"You... you..."

Jia Zhangshi's face turned red with rage, and her body visibly swelled like a balloon.

Xu Daimao said sarcastically, "Old woman Jia, look at you. Why can't you just walk the path normally? You have to stand there blocking the way; aren't you just looking for a beating?"

Jia Zhangshi snapped out of it and sneered, "I won't argue with you now, but once the First Uncle arrives, you'll regret this!"

As she spoke.

Jia Dongxu arrived, bringing Yi Zhonghai with him.

The Third Aunt was currently washing clothes by the water basin with a group of old women; seeing a commotion, they all gathered around as well.

Before Yi Zhonghai could even speak, Jia Zhangshi impatiently pointed at Li Aiguo and said, "First Uncle, I want to report Li Aiguo for illegally assembling a bicycle on his own."

"There's such a thing?" Yi Zhonghai frowned pretentiously, though he was secretly overjoyed.

*You little punk, weren't you acting so mighty two days ago? Now that I've caught you red-handed, I'll make you give a public self-criticism!*

He failed to notice that the Third Aunt's expression had turned strange.

Yi Zhonghai walked up to the two-wheeled bicycle with his hands behind his back, circled it once, and frowned: "Aiguo, tell me, what is the meaning of this?"

"The streets have strict prohibitions against privately assembling bicycles."

Li Aiguo said coldly, "And what if this bicycle wasn't privately assembled?"

As soon as he spoke, Jia Dongxu doubled over laughing. Clutching his stomach, he pointed at the bicycle

"Li Aiguo, I know you have a sharp tongue, but you can't treat everyone like an idiot."

"A bicycle this big—the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't even sell them. If it wasn't assembled privately, then what was it?"

"Truly foolish!"

Li Aiguo pulled an official document from the Mechanical Department out of his pocket and flicked it: "See this? This is a bicycle awarded to me by the Mechanical Department. If anyone thinks it was assembled privately, you can go to the Mechanical Department and find the Section Chief of the Criminal Division."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's brow furrowed.

Although he couldn't understand why the Mechanical Department would reward Li Aiguo with a bicycle, especially such an unusual one.

However.

The red official seal on the document was unmistakable.

"You're lying! A bicycle from the Mechanical Department would look like..."

Jia Dongxu wanted to say more, but Yi Zhonghai cut him off.

The man had official documents in hand; there was no point in continuing to argue.

Yi Zhonghai gave an awkward smile: "Aiguo, this is just a misunderstanding. Jia Zhangshi was only acting out of a sense of public duty. Since it's a misunderstanding and has been cleared up, let's leave it at that."

Having said that, he turned to the onlookers: "Alright, everyone, disperse."

"Wait!"

Li Aiguo spoke up to stop him.

The residents who were about to leave turned back around. Yi Zhonghai frowned: "Aiguo, what do you mean?"

"You frame someone and then just let it go? Your 'First Uncle' seat is certainly leaning in the wrong direction."

Li Aiguo said coldly, "If I were to say right now that you're having an affair with the Jia family's Qin Huairu, could we also just 'leave it at that'?"

As soon as these words were uttered, the courtyard erupted in laughter.

Xu Daimao took the opportunity to chime in: "Exactly! As the First Uncle, you should be fair to everyone. If you don't deal with Jia Zhangshi today, I won't be satisfied."

The Third Aunt stepped forward at this moment, raising her hand: "Old Yi, Jia Zhangshi's reckless false accusations against a resident are a disruption to our neighborhood unity. Our Yan family supports taking action against Jia Zhangshi."

The Third Aunt's words were quite heavy.

Yan Bugui was the Third Uncle, and the Yan family of five was considered a prominent household in the courtyard, wielding significant influence in the compound.

Yi Zhonghai looked at the Third Aunt in surprise, then immediately understood.

The Yan family's bicycle had also been assembled piece by piece.

If Li Aiguo were arrested, the Yan family would surely be implicated.

He had been fooled by Jia Zhangshi and had actually forgotten about that matter.

(End of Chapter)